We ate in stiff silence for a while, Finn taking tiny slow bites, probably to be annoying, until…
“Finn! How’s it going?”
A deep voice had me turning in my seat.
Two men stood just behind me. The Asian man was slender and had the cutest grin. The white man stood a few inches taller and was much broader.
I ran the couple through my memories.
Right. Dr. Leopold Rogers and his nurse husband, Quinton. Married just before the start of the school year. Leopold had two cute kids from a previous marriage. I knew all this because Quinton’s motherpaid for a huge picture of the men, the two children, and a dog to run in the paper shortly after the wedding ceremony. When someone dropped that kind of coin, I tended to remember. I stuck out my hand. “Ulysses MacDonald.”
Quinton grasped it. “Quinton Rogers.”
Ah, so he’d taken the doctor’s name. Because of the kids?
I shook it firmly.
“This is my husband, Leo.”
We shook hands.
“I’d invite you to join us—” Finn gestured to the very-small booth.
Quinton waved him off. “No worries. We’re just having a quick bite before the kids get out of school. We’re enjoying a rare weekday off.”
Many medical staff worked crazy hours, so this made sense.
“Do you know anything about the fire?” Leo caught Finn’s gaze. “I sort of thought you might be there.”
“Day off.” Finn shrugged. “I didn’t get called in. Plus, I have this charming companion to keep out of trouble.”
Quinton’s eyebrows shot up.
Heat raced to my cheeks.
“He’s a reporter.” Finn chuckled. “If I wasn’t here with him, then he’d be down at the fire inhaling all those noxious fumes.”
Right. So you’re doing this formybenefit.Since he hadn’t answered a single question, I was beginning to doubt the veracity of his assertion we were here totalk business.
“You’re new in town, right?” Quinton grinned at me. “So’s Leo. Small-town living takes an adjustment. Oh, sorry, you’re from Vancouver, right?”
Okay, someone knows how to use Google.Because I’d ensured there’d been no mention of any of my previous assignments when theannouncement of my arrival had been made. “Yeah, Vancouver. I’m adjusting to small-town living. Definitely a different pace of life.”
Leo nodded. “Very true. I’m from Surrey—which was a hybrid of suburbia, but also connected to Vancouver. Hell, I used to work in New West, and that commute was bad enough.”
“Oh, the new bridge opened.” Anything to veer away from any topic that might touch me.
“About bloody time.” Leo frowned. “The Patullo was always such a disaster. I hated driving over it with the kids in the car.
“How are Melodie and Trevor?” Finn grinned. “So adorable.”
“In school and fully adjusted to living here.” Leo smiled back—although I would’ve said a little wistfully. “They love having two sets of parents. Always trying to see what they can get away with.”
Quinton laughed. “And yet we coordinate with Archer and Gideon so they don’t get away with anything.” He considered. “Well, much anyway.”
“Your kids are so fricking cute.” Finn sipped his now-cold coffee.
“We love them to death.” Quinton again smiled broadly.
